The present invention relates to a device and a method for coordinating a machine fleet, of mobile agricultural machines in particular, which allow the machines to be operated with a high degree of productivity.
Specialized agricultural machines such as harvesting machines are often required in an agricultural operation only for a brief period of time over the course of a year, during which the work in which the machine specializes is required. To increase his return on investment, the farmer may prefer—for business reasons—to not own these types of machines himself, but rather to reserve access to them for the period of time during which he needs them. The machines may be owned by a cooperative, a private contractor, or the like.
To organize this access, a data exchange device is required that enables a user to evaluate whether a desired access is possible, and that supports an allocation of the access that ensures full, efficient utilization of the machines.
A system that supports the exchange of information between users and mobile agricultural machines and allows users to make changes to information stored in the system is made known in DE 102 45 169 A1.